Automatic firearm



1.1. REIFGRABER.

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED Iuuss, 1920.

Pmeented.A May 3o, 1929;

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AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1920.

lAlSJUQL Patented May 30, 1922.

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AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION man JUNE 1920.

Patented May 304, 1922,

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AUTOMATIC FIRMEN.'

Application led June 8, 1920. Serial No. 3S7,89. i

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH JOACHIM REIFGRABER, a citizen of the UnitedStates,

and a resident of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Firearms,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic firearms, and itconsists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements hereindescribed and claimed.

One of the foremost objects of my invention is to provide a one-handautomatic pisF tol which, as the term implies, is capable of beingrelieved so that the operator may continue shooting in case of a misreor jam,

Ljam, and not requiring the use of the other hand to aid this function.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic pistolwhich is inhercntly safe by virtue of the construction and operation ofcertain elements of which it consists in part, such means as theordinary safety devices which require manipulation by the other hand,being totally eliminated.

p A further object of the invention is to pro` vide an automatic pistolwhich embodies a normally locked breech block, but is so arranged thatthe breech block is unlocked by virtue of the pressure of a fractionalpart of the gas following the discharge of a bullet.

y Other objects and advantages will appear in the followingspecification, reference behing had to the accompanying drawings, inl

which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved automatic pistol,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section thereof, illustrating a bullet in thei tiring position and the other parts of the mechanism in the normalpositions,

Figure 3 is a similar sectional View illustrating the position of thehammer at the instant it is about to be released bythe trigger arm uponpulling the trigger, to fire the bullet, l l

F igurel 4f is a similar sectional view illustrating the parts in thepositions they assume after the bullet has been discharged,

Figure 5 is a horizontal section 'taken substantially on the lin'e 5 5of Figure 2,'y

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken on the l1ne6--6 of Figure 2,

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view of tovcasmg of the pistol, i igure 8is a detail sectional view of the breech block, and

the

Fi ure 9v is a detail sectional view of thegun rame. l

.Ihls lnventlon 1s an improvement on my prior patent for automaticfirearms granted July 27, 1909, No. 929,491, and also my prior PatentsNos. 729,413, ranted May 26, 1903, and 834,753, granted ctober 30, 1906.The construction of the present firearm has been greatly simplified andit is thought not out of place to outline a brief sketch of the purposesand advantages. thereof before proceeding with the description.v

Weapons of this type are ordinarily equipped with various kinds ofsafety devices which require initial'manipulation before they can belired. As the reader will presently discover, this automatic pistol hasno such devices, nor in fact does it require them, the operation' ofunlocking the breech block being performed by the expansion of the gasafter a bullet is discharged, against a portion of the breech blockwhich performs the unlocking operation.

All of the necessary operations are carried out by the hand which holdsthe gun, the

aid of theiother lhand not being required unf der any circumstance. Inthe event of a misfire or jam, the operator needs'only breech block andpull the trigger, whereupon the defective bullet will be discharged atthe side and the shooting maybe proceeded with as in the ordinarycourse. operation of the automatic pistol may be described as merely thepulling of the trigger, everything else taking care of itself in theproper order of events. With .this brief outline in mind the readersattention is now directed to the general construction of the automaticpistol.

The gun frame comprises the barrel 1 which has a suitably rifled bore 2with a shallow recess 3 at the rear and a gas vent t near Athe muzzle atthe front. Thel trigger recess 5 opens into the cartridge clip cham- Ina word, the.

ber 6 which in turn is embodiedin the hanldle 7 of the pistol.

At the rear of the handle there is a bore 8 which houses the main spring9 and plunger l0, both of which are parts of the breech block operatingmechanism. A portion of the upper part of the gun frame is machinedshoulder 14 when the parts are in the initial position illustrated inFigure 2. At this time the shoulder 17 rests on the abutment 13, thereturn movement of the breech block being limited by such engagement andall looseness of the breech block on the gun frame being furtherprevented by the careful fitting of the breech block on the fore part ofthe barrel.

The hammer bore 18 communicates with a smaller axial opening 19 at thefront, through which the firing pin 2O of the hammer 21 projects uponpulling the trigger 22 to fire the cartridge (J. In addition to theshoulders 16 and 17 already mentioned, 'the breech block hasintermediate and rear lock shoulders 23 and 24.

At one side of the hammer bore 18 there is a recess 25 (Fig. 8) inwhich'the finger 26 of the breech-closing lever 27 works. It is throughthe agency of this lever, actuated by the main spring 9 and plunger 10,that the breech block 15 is returned 'to the forward or initial positionafter the firing of a cartridge. A flange 28 on each side of the breechbl0ck15aids in accurately loeating the breech block on the fore part ofthe barrel when the former is in the initial position, this flange 28being cut out at 29 to coincide with the ejector opening 30 in the topcasing 31, when the breech block` is in the rearmost positionillustrated in Figure 4,. This top casing is pivoted to the gun frame at32 at the front and at the rear has an aperture 33 with a branch 34 tocooperate with the locking pin 35..

This pin is suitably mounted on the gun frame. When the exposedingerpiece 36 is turned down so that the flat part 37 coincidesV withthe branch 35, it is obvious that the top casing, 31 mav readily beswung up on its pivot 32 s0 as to gain access to the mechanism on theinside. On the contrary, when the fingerpiece 36 is swung up toward theleft as in Figure 1, the flat part is moved out of coincidence with thebranchl 34 so that the top casing may not be swung up. It thereforeremains in the locked position on the gun frame. The casing has anabutment ure 4.

38 with which the kintermediate and rear shoulders 23 and 24 of thebreech block successively engage. Normally, the rear shoulder 24 engagesthe abutment 38- when the breech block is in the forward or lockedposition and after the discharge of the cartridge C, at which time thelock shoulders 14, 16 are disengaged, the intermediate shoulder 23engages the abutment 38 as in F ig- The trigger 22 consists of two mainparts: the trigger itself, and the trigger arm 39 which is' pivotedtothe trigger at 40. The trigger is pivoted on the gun frame at 41 andhas a bore which houses the spring 42, the spring pressing on the heel43 of the trigger arm, for the purpose ofy maintaining f theengagementof the upper end with the hammer 21.y The trigger arm issuitably shaped to straddle or embrace the cartridge clip 44 in the,recess 6. The upper end of the spring 42 engages rthe lip 45on the gunframe.

The hammer 21, mentioned above is hollow at 46 to partially contain theammer spring 47 which rests against the back plug 48 in the bore 18. Theback nlug includes the guide pin 49 which keeps the spring centralizedin the bore. One side `of the hammer is cut away at 50 so asto make roomfor te finger 26 of the breech-closing lever 27 ig. 6). f

The lug 51 of the hammer 21 is engaged by the upper claw 52 of thetrigger arm 39 when the hammer and breech block are in the normal orforward positions, at which time the lower claw 53 on the same upper endof the arm 39, is clear ofthe heel 54 of the breech-closing lever 27.But if the rear exposed end of the breech block 15 is pressed down withthe thumb of the hand which holds the firearm, the lower claw 53 of thetrigger arm 39 .is thrust into engagement with the heel 54 of thebreeclvcloslng lever 27, it being observed in Figure 2 that the claw 53is directly above the heel 54.

Of course the breech block is unlocked by 'thus pressing down on therear end. 1f the trigger 22 is now pulled, the breech closing lever 27isA carried rearwardly, conveying the breech block with it therebyextracting and ejecting a defective shell from the firearm. Theforegoing operation is intended to be carried out only in the event thata defective shell has moved up into firing position. 4 y

When the position in Figure 2 is assumed, the firing pin 20 rests butlightly on the primer of the cartridge, the trigger 22 and trigger arm39 being. in precisely the proper position to enable the upper claw 52to engage the lug 51 of the hammer 21 and thus lrestrain the hammer frommoving farther iaiaoai It is also to be observed that there isthen aslight space between the shoulder 50 on the hammer and the rear edge ofthe lever 27 This lever is pivoted at 5-5 on the gun frame and carries aroller 56 which a'ords an anti-friction engagement with the upper i endof the plunger 10.

An extractor of any approved type, may be employed in connection withthe breech block mechanism. For the purpose of illustration, aconventional form of extractor 57 is shown attached to the breech blockin Figure 5. The free Vend of the extractor engages the rim of thecartridge C and pulls the empty shell out ofthe recess-3 in the barrel,on the rearward movement of-the breech block.` When the empty lshell Creaches the opening 30 in the top,l casing 31,

the'firing pin 20 of the hammer 21 acts as the ejector, in themannerdescribed under the operation. l

When the breech block uncovers the magazine recessk6, a fresh cartridgeis moved up into the breech of the Apistol in position to be forced intothe recess 3 on the return or forward movement of the breech block. Al-

though not shown, the reader will under-r stand that there is a springinside of the cartridge magazine 44 which forces the cartridgesupwardly. The functions of Ithe various parts described above will bemore readily understood in connection with the following operation:Normally, the breech block 15 is in the position illustrated in Figure2, the shoulder 16 being supported on the shoulder 14 of the gun frame,the rear shoulder 24 and abutment 38 being in engagement, and the hammer21 being in the position at which the ring pin 2O is: retractedin theaperture 19, but resting lightly on the cartridge primer. A

The operator now pulls the trigger 22. This causes the trigger arm 39 tomove rearwardly a sufficient distance with the trigger, the upper claw52 being in engagement with the lug 51, causing the hammer 21 to movebackwardly in the bore 18 against the tension of the hammer spring 47,and when the position in Figure 3 has been reached, the upper claw slipsfrom the lug 51. rihe hammer 21 is then released and the firing pin 20caused to strike the primer and explode the cartridge C; Up to thistime, the breech block 15 remains immovable in respect to the gun frame.

But as soon as the bullet reaches the vent 4, Vand a. fractional part ofthe gas behindy it, expands against the front portion of the breechblock in advance of the shoulder 16,`

the breech 1block is lifted from engagement with the shoulder 14 whilethe rear shoulder 24 is lowered from engagement with the abutment 38,thereafter moving rearwardly until the position in Figure 4 i'sreached.v It

position mentioned in connection -with Figure 4.

The arrangement is 'such that on the rearward stroke of the trigger arm39, (as long as the breech block 15 is llocked) the'lower claw 53 avoidsthe heel 54 of the breech closing lever 27 but at thevsame time, theupper claw 52 engages the lug 51 of the hammer. Afterthe trigger 22 hasreached the rear- 'ward position, the trigger arm 39 assumes a differentposition'by reason of its uppermost curvature, the supper claw 52 thenbeing unable to engage the lug 51 of the hammer as can be plainly seenboth in Figures 3 and 4.

As stated above, the oldA shell is extracted from the recess 3 by theextractor 57 on'the rearward movement of the breech block 15, and whenthe opening 30 is reached, is ej ected by the firing pin of the hammer.lThis action canv readily be understood by bearing in mind that so longas the breech block is locked in its forward position, there is a spacebetween the shoulder 50 and the closing lever 27 but the moment thebreech is unlocked, that space is taken up by the consequent but slightdownward movement of the breech block from its locking abutment.

rlhis downward movement of the breech block necessarily causes thefinger 26 to move slightly Ifarther into the recess behind the shoulder50 so that the firing ypin is withdrawn within the aperture 19 andremains in this position until the breech block reaches the rearmostposition in Figure 4. At that time the tip of the finger is very low inthe recess behind the shoulder 50 and provides room enough for thehammer spring 47 to force the hammer 21 forwardly so vthat the firingpin projects beyond the aperture 19 as clearly shown in Figure 4. Whenthe pin has thus been projected, the empty shell ejecting action takesplace, the extractor hook 57 acting as a pivot on which the shellisswung out.

Now when the breech block moves forwardly again through the action ofthe spring 9 on the breech closing lever 27, which lever operatesagainst the hammer shoulder 50 to gradually retract the hammer and holdit in that positionduringthc entire forward or return movement. now beassumed that the breech is closed but not locked. lThe locking of thebreech occurs when it moves slightly upwardly to bring the rear shoulder24 into engagement with the abutment 38, this by virtue of the spring 9acting on the finger 26, whereafter the upper claw 52 reengages the lug51 and lightly supports the firing pin 20 on the primer of thecartridge.

' While the construction and arrangement ofthe improved automatic,pistol as herein described and claimed, is that of a generally preferredform, obviously modifications and changes may be made Without departlngfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

l. A firearm, including a body with a portion having an abutment, and abarrel with a lock shoulder; and a breech block with rear and frontshoulders normally in engagement with the abutment and lock shoulderrespectively, to lock the breech block in the initial position, and anintermediate shoulder engageable with the abutment to limit the recoilof the breech block when a portion of the block adjacent the frontshoulder is lifted from the lock shoulder by gas pressure.

Q. A firearm, including a gun frame, with a reciprocable breech blockmoved to a recoiled position from an initially locked posi tion on theframe, from which it is released bygas pressure, the breech block havinga groove; tensionable means for returning the breech block to theinitially locked position, including a frame-housed spring with aplunger; and actuating means including a breech closing-lever movableWith the block by engagement of a portion thereof with said groove, andhaving an anti-friction member bearing on the plunger.

3. A firearm, including a barrel with a lock shoulder and an abutment;and abreech block with avrecessed portion defining shoulderscorresponding to and engaging said abutment and lock shoulderrespectively when the breech block is initially seated on that portionof the barrel.

4. A firearm, including an inclined-top barrel with a lock shoulder andan abutment, and a top casing With a rear abutment; and a breech block,recessed to define shoulders corresponding to and engaging With theabutment and lock shoulder respectively when the breech block is in theinitially locked position on that portion of the barrel, a rear shoulderon the block engaging the rear casing abutment through the then inclinedposition of the breech'block.

5. The combination of a barrel, a breech block initially seated andlocked vin position on the barrel, With a hammer -bore having a`spring-pressed hammer; and a trigger with means for retracting andreleasing the hammer independently' of the breech block to discharge abullet, a portion of the gas behind the bullet releasingr the breechblock from the locked position and subsequently moving it, together withthe hammer, to a recoiled position.

6. A firearm, including a breech block with a bore and a lateralcommunicating groove, a spring-pressed hammer in the bore, with a,lateral cut-away portion proper claw initially engaging a portion of thep hammer to move the latter to a firing position when the trigger ispressed and thereupon releasing the hammer, and a lower claw engageableby said vheel on a return movement of said lever to restore the triggerto an initial position `at which the upper claw and hammer portionre-engage.

8. A firearm, including a barrel, with a muzzle-piece` having an upperportion removed to leave a lock shoulder; and a breech block fitting onthe barrel, with a front piece offset to leave a shoulder to engage thelock shoulder and secure the breech block in the initial position. i

9. The combination in a firearm, of a hammer, with a firing pin and alug; a trigger, with a trigger-arm normally engaging the lug to preventmore than the li htest enf gagement of the firing pin with t e primer ofa cartridge, and a curve in the arm causing disengagement thereof fromthe lug after the hammer is predeterminedly retracted by pulling thetrigger, to permit the hammer to snap forwardly unobstructedly againstthe primer.

10. A firearm, comprising a gun frame and top casing, With a cartridgemagazine and lateral ejector opening; a breech block normally in lockedengagement Withthe top casing, having its rear end exposed forthumb-pressure and movable to an unlocked position in respect to the topcasing; and a trigger With a trigger arm in normally operationconnection with a hammer carried by the breech block, to move the latterback- Wardly by pulling the trigger and cause the ejectment of adefective cartridge out of said opening.

l1. A firearm, including a barrel with a lock shoulder at the front, acasing abutment, and a breech block with a lock shoulder to normallyengage theulock shoulder at the front, a rear lock shoulder normallyengaging the casing abutment, and an intermediatelock shoulder adaptedto subse# quently engage the casing abutment.

l2. A firearm, including a barrel With a lock shoulder at the front, acasing abutment, a breech block with a lock shoulder to normally engagethe lock shoulder at the front, a rear lock shoulder normally en ag ingthe casing abutment and an interme iate lock shoulder adapted tosubsequently engage the casingabutment; andy instrumen- 'salities vforseparating the front' lock shoulders by gas pressure following thedischarge cf a bullet, also separating the rear lock shoulder from theabutment to enable the intermediate lock shoulder to engage said abutthecasing abutment, and an intermediate lock shoulder in normaldisengagement; and ahollow hammer actuated by a spring in the breechblock bore,- With a ring pin retracted from the axial opening; and meansholding the hammer retracted but releasing it to discharge a cartridge,a portion of the escaping gas operating to separate the front lockshoulders and the rear lock shoulder from the casing' abutment withwhich the intermediate look shoulder subsequently engages. y Y

JOSEPH JOACHEM REIIFGRABER.

